


Now You're Just Somebody That I Used To Know

by Bat_Crap_Crazy



Category: Big Brother RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 19:38:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17432267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bat_Crap_Crazy/pseuds/Bat_Crap_Crazy
Summary: "But you didn't have to cut me offMake out like it never happened and that we were nothingAnd I don't even need your loveBut you treat me like a stranger and that feels so roughNo, you didn't have to stoop so lowHave your friends collect your records and then change your numberI guess that I don't need that thoughNow you're just somebody that I used to know"--Gotye





	Now You're Just Somebody That I Used To Know

 

            “Do you really think they will have us walk the red carpet?” Sunny asked for approximately the four-millionth time. She was checking her make-up in a tiny mirror she had taken from her bag.

            Zach sighed and tried to calm himself before answering so she wouldn’t hear the irritation in his voice. “Yes. This is a pretty big deal to CBS; they will do it up right. Since they went to the expense of hiring all these cars and drivers, I can’t imagine them not announcing our arrival.” He looked out the window and remembered the first time he had ridden in a vehicle going to this same studio. He was in a small bus with the second group of houseguests preparing to enter the Big Brother house for Season 16. He remembered he was nervous and a bit afraid that day. He couldn’t even speak to anyone on the bus because the handlers forbade it. Now, five years later, he was returning. This time he was irritated and wished he didn’t have to speak to anyone. But Sunny kept chattering on about the stupid red carpet.

            He even hadn’t planned on coming to this dumb event. CBS was desperately trying to keep ‘Big Brother’ from being cancelled like so many of the other ones around the world had been. When “Big Brother Canada” was cancelled, fans joined together and flooded the network with pleas to bring it back. It had worked, so CBS decided to prove how loved “Big Brother US” was by having a ‘fan appreciation day’. They wanted to bring all the former houseguests back and let the fans come around the different season’s booths and meet their favs. There was also going to be a petition for the fans to sign to show their love for the show. Zach thought the whole thing was ridiculous. There was a petition online for people to sign; in his mind there was no reason for this gathering. He had refused the first invitation and even the phone call he got from the producers. They sent a second formal invitation and Sunny had seen it. She and Zach had gotten into a huge argument about it, but she checked the “Yes” box and the “plus one” box and mailed it before he could stop her. Even after that he still would have flaked on it, except during an interview last week, after the fashion show, she had told the reporters she was attending the event as Zach’s guest. The interview was posted on an online magazine site with over a million subscribers. The story spread online like wildfire, so he felt forced to attend.

            He felt the suppressed rage rising up in his chest again. He had been battling it for the last month, ever since he received the first invitation. He hated being forced into things and the last thing he wanted to do was be stuck in a booth with…he decided it would be best to stop thinking about it because he doubted if Frankie would be there anyway. He could hear her still rambling on about the red carpet—this time worried that her shoes would not photograph well against it. He turned to ask her to kindly shut the fuck up, but he stopped when he saw she was putting on her sunglasses. She always wore super oversized sunglasses that obscured most of her face. He caught the words before they could leave his mouth. Instead he smiled and said, “Your shoes will look wonderful on them. Remember? You put them next to every red thing you own and they always did.”

            She smiled. “You’re right. I am just being a silly head.”

            “No, you are a model and I understand that you have to worry about such things. I am really glad you ditched the hair extensions,” he said, examining her super-short blonde hair.

            “I know you are. I can tell. You really hated them and I don’t know why. Everyone else loved them—they said they were sexy and I looked years younger. I only took them out because you like my hair this way and this is your event. After this I am putting them back in.”

            Zach shrugged, “That is up to you. In my opinion, not many women can make super-short hair look good, but you can. It is an advantage you have over the other models.”

            “Maybe you’re right. I will have some new headshots taken when I get back to New York. Some with the extensions and some without and let Lester decide which is better. He has that crazy ability to gauge what is coming up on the fashion scene before anyone else. I have always felt so lucky that he is my agent.” She ran her hand delicately over her modified faux hawk. “This hairstyle was his idea, you know? But maybe it is a bit too ‘last season’ now.”

            The car began to slow so Zach looked out his window. He saw they were in a long line of luxury vehicles, all of which had moved over to the turn lane. They would be arriving in just a few moments. He raised his hand to his mouth and bit at his fingernails. Sunny reached over and pulled his hand away. “Stop that! You don’t want to arrive with bleeding nails. Honestly! It really seems like you don’t want to be here!”

            “I don’t,” Zach said bitterly. “I told you I didn’t, but you RSVP’d that I would.”

            She shook her head dismissively. “Now _you_ are acting like the silly head. You are going to get a ton of publicity for this! People pay to get this much attention. And besides, I would think it would be fun for you. You get to catch up with all the people from your cast. It will be sort of like a summer camp reunion. I had one once. It was great! We made s’mores and sang songs and we…”

            “It was nothing at all like FUCKING summer camp! Unless you consider swimming with sharks for a summer, expecting any second to be the next one eaten, to be summer camp!” Zach snarled.

            Sunny laughed. “Once you got voted out you went to a mansion and had a vacation! You can’t fool me! I watch the show every year, remember? Nobody dies!”

            “It feels like it,” Zach mumbled. He turned in his seat and looked out the back window. A long line of cars stretched out behind them. He sighed again. He wished the day was over and they were on their way home. He turned back around in his seat. He shifted around a bit and looked through the front window. It looked like they were the fourth car in line for the drop off.

            Zach settled back in his seat in quiet resignation. Sunny became more animated and announced each time the line moved. Because of the way the entrance was constructed, she couldn’t see who was exiting the cars ahead and she complained bitterly about it.

            Finally their car came to a stop at the entrance. An employee of CBS opened their car door. Zach stepped out and turned to help Sunny. The employee had a clipboard in his hand. “Name, season, and guest name please,” he requested, with his pen poised to write the information.

            “Zach Rance, Season 16, and my guest is Sunny Brandenburg,” he said. No sooner had the words left his mouth; he felt Sunny’s nails digging into his upper arm through his suit jacket.

            “No! I am a model and my professional name is Sunny B. That’s how I want my name listed. And it is Sunny with a u, not an o.” She instructed.

            The man made the correction and then handed the paper to a page who had came around the partition to take it. A moment later he heard the information being announced. The CBS employee nodded to them and told them the reporters were ready.

            As Zach had predicted, there was a red carpet. Almost instantly the cameras began going crazy. Sunny clung possessively to his arm. The red carpet was actually only a few feet long, but they had to stop and pose many times. Midway through, Sunny removed her sunglasses which caused a surge of new angles to be called for by the photographers.

            “Hey Zach!” one of the photographers called, “Where’s your pink hat and gator shirt?”

            Zach laughed, “I retired those years ago!”

            “I told you so! You should have worn them,” Sunny hissed through her teeth, never once letting her huge-smile-for-the-cameras leave her face.

            As they reached the end of the carpet, Zach looked back and saw another previous houseguest with a plus one was walking onto the carpet. He didn’t recognize either of them, so he assumed one of them was from an earlier season. He had never gotten around to watching many of those.

            A CBS staffer brought them their lanyards with a laminated card containing their names and pictures on them. Zach scowled when he saw they used his cast picture from BB16 for his.

            “It’s just a head shot!” Sunny whined as she looked at hers. Someone official had printed a picture of her during the red carpet walk and it had been attached it to her card. “I was hoping for a full shot so I could see my shoes against the red carpet!”

            Zach fought down the urge to scream at her to shut up. He took a deep breath. “The red carpet pictures will start appearing online soon. You can check them out then.”

            He looked around and realized they were in the backyard of the BB house, plus the walls had been taken down so they also had the adjoining parking lot for the studio to hold all the booths. They had been given maps when they received their lanyards so Zach looked at his, studying it to discover where the booth for BB16 was located. He finally found it. It was next to the Big Brother house itself. Across from it was a tent that was sponsored by a cocktail distributor. It was the bar tent and was restricted to adults only. Zach gave a tiny nod to himself. If he decided to bolt at some point in the day, that is where he planned on bolting to.

            “I don’t understand this at all!” Sunny said. “If that is the Big Brother house and this is the backyard, where is the grass?”

            “It’s fake. I imagine they just rolled it up and put it into storage,” Zach answered.

            “No it is not fake!” Sunny said angrily. “I have watched every season and I know it is real!”

            “Okay, it is real _plastic_ grass. Is that better? It’s only for looks. It gets so hot during the days that it could burn the skin right off the bottoms of your feet. That’s why no one is ever barefoot outside. Surely you have noticed that,” Zach irritably explained.

            “Oh…” Sunny said slowly. “Well, it looks real!”

            Zach could hear the buzzing voices of the photographers behind them surged in volume and excitement. Without needing to look, he knew why. He grabbed Sunny by her upper arm, “Come on! Let’s go find the booth for 16!”

            She startled at his touch. She started to move with him but stopped immediately. Zach heard it the same time she had. A photographer had shouted to be heard over the other ones, “Frankie! Look this way, Frankie!”

            Sunny pulled her arm away from Zach as she spun around quickly, looking back at the red carpet. “Oh! It’s Frankie Grande!” she squealed, bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands in excitement. She turned her beaming smile towards Zach, “I was afraid he wouldn’t be here!”

            “So, you’re a Frankie fan. You never told me,” Zach said quietly.

            “You never asked me! I’m a huge fan of his! I have been hoping since I met you that you would introduce us or something. Aren’t you supposed to be, like… really close friends?”

            “Yeah, well…you know…he lives in New York and I…” Zach mumbled.

            “I know! I’ve seen all his fabulous pictures with the Kardashians, Kendall Jenner, and the Hadids—Bella and Gigi! If he would post a picture of him and me together…I would die! D-I-E! I swear it!” She turned her attention back to straining to see Frankie on the red carpet. “OH! He brought his boyfriend, Manuel, with him as his plus one! They look so good together!” She turned back to Zach, “Will you ask him to take a picture with me and post it on his Instagram?”

            “What?!!! No! Come on, let’s go to the booth!” Zach urged, feeling his discomfort level rising by the second. He had almost had himself convinced that Frankie wouldn’t be here, but now that Zach knew he was, he wanted to get as far away from him as possible. His eye happened to land on the booth for Season 1 that was near them. The size of the booth made Zach’s nerves stir up even higher. If that booth’s size was an indication of all of the booths, there was going to be little chance to avoid speaking to Frankie.

            “He’s almost at the end of the carpet! Can’t we wait for him?”

            “No! He will be going to the same booth, you can meet him there!” Zach said as he started to walk away.

            “Hello Zach! Did you just arrive too?” Frankie called.

            Zach took a deep breath and let it out before turning and walking back to greet Frankie, “Yes, just on our way to the booth now.”

            “Manuel,” Frankie said, turning to the man next to him, “This is Zach Rance. He was a cast mate of mine when I was on BB16. Zach, this is my boyfriend Manuel,” Frankie made the introductions. Manuel extended his hand and Zach gave him an extra firm handshake with a little bonus squeeze before it ended. He noticed the slight lifting of one of Manual’s eyebrows and a slow smile spread across his face as they released their hands. Zach turned to Sunny, “And this is…” he paused. He didn’t feel like introducing her has his girlfriend because they hadn’t been together very long and he didn’t want to open up that can of worms. Luckily he was saved by Frankie.

            “I know who this is!” Frankie said, turning his attention to her with a beaming smile. “You are Sunny B!”

            Sunny’s eyes widen in surprise, “You know who I am?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch. Zach involuntarily winced as it hit near the same register as Minnie Mouse.

            “Of course I do!” Frankie said, reaching out to take her hand. “You walked in Conner Anderson’s show during New York Fashion Week this spring. Conner and I are old friends and I came to his show. You wore two of his creations—the citrus-stripped romper for his casual line and the navy jumpsuit with the wide rhinestone belt for his semi-formal line.”

            “Oh my God,” Sunny squealed, “You were there? I wish I had known! I have wanted to meet you for literally a million years!”

            Again Zach winced, this time at her incorrect usage of the word ‘literally’.

            Frankie gave Sunny a huge smile. “Conner is new but he is on the fast-track to success in the fashion world. You were smart to pick his show to walk in. He has a brilliant future ahead. I remember after the show he was listing his favorite models that had walked for him. You were his number one! I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear that he uses you for his next show.”

            “Really?” she squealed.

            Frankie nodded, “I really think so. Hey! Why don’t we all take a picture together? I’ll post it on my Instagram and let everyone know that we are here!”

            When Frankie looked down to find his phone, Sunny flashed Zach a huge smile. Zach faked a smile back at her.

            Frankie arranged them so that the red carpet would be clearly seen in the background of the picture. He had his arm around Sunny and Manuel slid his arm around Frankie and got in close. “Come on, Zach,” Frankie instructed. “Move in closer. You are hardly in the frame.”

            Zach sighed and moved behind them, with his face in the space between Frankie and Sunny. Frankie nodded and snapped the picture. “There!” he said and then paused. “No, it’s not right. Zach, you were frowning. We have to take it again.”

            “Sorry,” Zach mumbled. “I have a bit of a headache. Give me a countdown for the next one and I’ll do better.”

            Frankie again held up the phone, “Okay. 3...2...1!” He snapped the picture and then examined it. “Yes! This is much better.” He messed with his phone for a minute, with Sunny looking over his shoulder. “There! Posted it! Captioned it: ‘We have arrived!’.”

            Zach could feel his phone vibrate in his pocket and was glad he had turned the sound off. Frankie and Sunny were looking at Frankie’s phone, admiring the post Frankie had put up, but Manuel was looking at Zach. He dropped his eyes to the pocket where Zach had his phone and then looked back at Zach’s face and smirked. It was obvious to Zach that Manuel had heard the slight buzzing of the vibration of the phone that gave Zach the notification that Frankie had posted on Instagram. Zach felt his face flush as he looked away, pretending to study the surrounding booths.

            “We probably need to find our booth and get ready. I imagine they will be opening the gates for the visitors soon,” Frankie suggested after he and Manuel had been given their lanyards by a CBS staffer.

            “Ours is next to the house,” Zach said as he showed Frankie the point on the map.

            Frankie nodded and then turned to the main walkway that cut through the center of the area. Manuel slipped his arm back around Frankie’s waist and Sunny hurriedly moved to Frankie’s other side to walk. Zach walked behind them. He kept himself occupied by examining the booths and the games along the way to their booth. There were numerous food tents set up and the smells of the carnival variety type of foods were filling the air. Several games were located along the walkway. They were ordinary games that one would see in an average carnival but they all had a Big Brother theme. Zach could see the prizes for winners displayed and they also had a Big Brother theme.

            He studied the different seasons’ booths as they walked by. Each one had a long counter in the front of the booth with stools. A few former houseguests had already taken their places along their counters and had stacks of their pictures next to them, waiting to be signed for their fans.

            The booths had a backdrop of that season’s living room. On the wall above the counter where the houseguests were to sit was a monitor that showed the season’s highlights along with still shots of the cast. Zach shuddered involuntarily at the sight. He knew the booth for BB16 would have his and Frankie’s fight. He ambled over closer to one of the booths to determine if the clips had sound. His heart sank when he heard that they did. He remembered he and Frankie standing across the room from each other, screaming “I love you!” during Frankie’s reveal of who he really was.

            While he was near the booth, someone walked toward the fake living room backdrop and pulled the edge of it aside and stepped through it. Zach’s attention was grabbed by the sight of a small trailer parked behind it. At the next season booth they approached, Zach stepped off the walkway and walked a few feet towards the back of the booth. They had a trailer parked behind theirs too. Zach puzzled about it during the rest of the walk to the BB16 booth.

            When they reached their booth they found Derrick, Cody, Caleb, and Donny had arrived before them, along with Ashley, Caleb’s wife. As Zach was greeting everyone, he looked over to their counter and saw that their places had been assigned. He wasn’t surprised to find the he and Frankie had been placed side-by-side. Since Derrick was the winner of their season, by rights he should have been placed at the head of the table. But Cody had that place. Followed in line by Derrick, Donny, and Frankie because of Team America. Zach was placed in the between Frankie and Caleb. There were no other chairs sat up at their counter, so Zach knew this meant no one else from their season was scheduled to come.

            He walked to the back of the booth and pulled the backdrop aside and saw that they had one of those trailers too. There were two doors, one on each end of the length. He opened the door nearest him and saw that it was a fairly spacious bathroom. He closed the door and then walked down to the other door and opened it. It was a twin to the other bathroom.

            On their way to the booth, Zach had observed banks of port-a-potties placed in strategic areas. It was nice to see that they, the returning houseguests, had been given the luxury models. Six houseguests plus three guests to share two bathrooms. Zach shook his head and gave a humorless laugh. They were being treated better for an afternoon than they had been the entire time they were actually inside the house.

            He left the trailer and came back through the backdrop. He stood staring at it for a moment. He could hear the others chatting behind him as he studied the scene that had been printed on the canvas. It was so well done that it looked almost real. As he stared at it, memories—both good and bad—of the times he had been in that room flooded his mind. He felt as if he could almost take a step forward and he would actually be back in that room. The low mummer of their voices behind him added to that feeling.

            He felt his arm being grabbed and heard the whining, “Zach!” that made his name sound four-syllables long. Sunny was looking at him with an impatient expression. “I called your name like literally a million times! I am going with the guide.”

            Zach blinked hard to pull himself out of the past and into the present. “Guide?”

            Sunny huffed, “Yes! The guide! He is going to let us tour the house and the studio before the regular people get in line!”

            Zach nodded at her and she walked off to join Manuel and Ashley who were standing with a man in a CBS uniform. After she left, Zach walked over and took his place at the counter.

            There was a box and a sharpie on the counter. He opened the box and saw that it contained a stack of copies of his BB16 cast picture. He pulled some out and began to sign them.

            “I wouldn’t do that,” Frankie said leaning in to see what he was doing.

            “Why not?”

            “People like to watch you sign it for them in person after they buy them,” Frankie explained.

            “Well, if they don’t like it, they can go fuck themselves,” Zach said. But he capped the sharpie and laid it down.

            Frankie turned back to the conversation he had been having with Derrick and Donny.

            Zach and Caleb chatted for a bit and although Zach tried to concentrate on what Caleb was saying, he was distracted by the sound of the video clips he knew were playing on the monitor above them. He could hear his and Frankie’s voices having some conversation that had happened years ago. He couldn’t make out what they had been discussing, but they sounded relaxed. Zach wondered if the scene was from the HOH room and the two of them laying side-by-side, planning their strategy. Or rather, Frankie planning and Zach agreeing to everything he said. Zach sighed, and no sooner had he exhaled, the front of their booth became overran with fans. Zach hadn’t even seen them coming.

            For the next few hours, they didn’t see much downtime as fans flocked to their booth in waves. At one point, Ashley re-entered the booth and took a chair near the back of the booth. Sunny and Manuel continued on with the guide. Sunny gave him a wave and he nodded to show her he had seen. Frankie gave her a big smile and a wave and she grinned back at him.

            Sometime after that, Zach looked down at his watch and saw that he had been there over three hours. A small group of fans had just left his area and were now talking to the guys at the head of the counter. Caleb was turned in his seat talking to Ashley. Frankie got out of his seat and leaned across the counter and took a selfie with some fans. Zach imagined that was against the rules since CBS wanted them to sell pictures and not give them away for free. He shrugged. Frankie had been doing it since the first wave of fans came through and it didn’t stop people from buying his pictures or anyone else’s at the booth.

            Zach grabbed up a stack of pictures from his box and began to sign them rapidly. When he was finished, he tapped Caleb on the shoulder. Caleb turned to look at him.

            “I need a bathroom break. I have signed some pictures. If anyone comes while I’m gone and wants one, will you handle it for me?” Zach asked.

            “Oh sure!” Caleb replied and pulled the stack over next to his and then turned back to continue his conversation with Ashley.

            Zach got up and walked over to the backdrop. He picked up an edge and then stepped out on the narrow ledge that separated the booth from the trailer. He dropped the edge of the backdrop so no one inside the booth could turn around and see him.

            He wanted to get away as quickly as possible, but he knew if he took the shorter path—around the side of the booth and directly across the main area, he could easily be spotted by someone from their booth. He didn’t want that so he darted in the other direction. He ran behind three of the trailers and decided that was far enough. He made his way to the front of the booths and hurried across the main area until he was on the other side. Most of the people were involved with visiting the booths or playing the games and were not aware of anyone near them. A few people were walking from one booth to another and he tried to blend in with them as he made his way to the huge cocktail tent that had been set up next to the entrance to the BB house and directly across from the Season 16 booth. He looked toward the house and saw a group of people walking in the doors. A man in a CBS uniform clipped a red velvet rope shut at the entrance after they entered. He hung a sign with a clock on it that told people the house would be closed for lunch and would re-open in an hour.

            Zach tossed a quick look over at their booth and saw that a group of fans was gathered in front of it and he knew that no one at the counter would be able to see him. He relaxed his tense shoulders with a sigh and walked into the cocktail tent. A few fans were leaving as he entered and recognized him. He greeted them and then hurried over to a long counter that had been set up with stools to resemble a bar. He sat down and then looked around. The tent held quite a few tables and people were eating. Zach hadn’t realized they would be serving food and his stomach gave out a growl.

            Zach ordered a hamburger and fries with the beer they had on tap. It didn’t take long for his food to arrive, especially considering how many customers were in the tent. As he started to eat his lunch, he realized what he already knew subconsciously. He wasn’t going to go back to that booth. He was done. He wanted to ditch and go back to the hotel. The only fly in the ointment was Sunny. If he told her he wanted to leave, he knew she would cause a scene.

            Out of his peripheral vision he saw someone sat down on the stool next to him. He looked over and almost choked on a mouthful of food when he realized it was Manuel. Manuel smiled at him, “‘Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.’”

            “What?” Zach asked, totally confused by Manuel’s greeting.

            “It’s a quote from ‘Casablanca’, just my way of saying I didn’t expect to see you here.”

            Zach shrugged, “I’m hungry; this place has food.”

            Manuel grinned, “But it is not your scheduled break time. If it was, I would expect to see a few of your other ‘cast mates’ here.” Manuel laughed, “That was amusing when Frankie introduced you as one of his ‘cast mates’, wasn’t it?”

            Zach picked up his glass of beer and took a drink before answering. “Why amusing? It was the truth.”

            Manuel gave his lunch order and then turned back to Zach. He raised an eyebrow and smirked, “But not all of the truth. I’ll tell you a little secret…something Frankie doesn’t even know…”

            “I’m not interested hearing in your secret,” Zach cut him off.

            “Nevertheless,” Manuel gave a slight shrug, “I’m going to tell you anyway. When I met Frankie, I had never watched ‘Big Brother’ before. He mentioned being on one season and never brought it up again. Being the good boyfriend that I am, I decided I would watch his season, you know…to show that I am interested in everything about him, and then I would tell him all about it after as a surprise.” Manuel gave a tiny chuckle, “However, I was the one who was surprised. This…uh…Zankie thing, it was pretty popular, wasn’t it? After watching the season, I went scouting around to see if there was anything online about the two of you. Pictures, twitter pages, Tumblr pages, YouTube pages, fan-made videos…” He paused and then said with a laugh, “There were even fanfics written about the two of you!”

            Zach picked up a French fry from his plate, dipped it in ketchup and put it into his mouth, “Yup,” he said, popping the ‘p’ for emphasis.

            “And yet…he never mentions your name. Interesting. I guess over time, you just became somebody that he used to know.” Manuel’s food was sat down in front of him.

            Zach looked at the small salad and glass of white wine with a smirk. “Not much of a lunch.”

            Manuel gave a small sigh and nodded, “I agree. However some of us care about our weight.”

            Zach picked up his glass and took another drink as Manuel ate a few bites of his salad. “It was my idea to come to this, you know?” Manuel asked while chewing his romaine lettuce.

            Zach shrugged. “Why do you think I give a shit?”

            Manuel laughed. “I wanted to see the two of you together. I wanted to see if there was still anything between you two. Another little secret I will share…Frankie and I are going to be married in December. We picked it because Christmas is Frankie’s favorite holiday. Anyway,” he said while sticking the tines of his fork into a tomato wedge, “I read in an online magazine that you were definitely coming here, so I cleared Frankie’s schedule and booked him for a gig here in LA, so we would be in the area. I figured he might not fly to California just for this…but if he were already here…”

            “Well, congratulations,” Zach said as he stuffed the last of the French fries in his mouth. “Enjoy your lunch.” He stood up to leave and Manuel reached over and grabbed his arm.

            “Aren’t you interested in what I have observed?”

            “Nope,” Zach said as he pulled his arm away from Manuel and reached for his wallet to pay his check.

            “Sit down. You can have a beer on me,” Manuel offered.

            “I buy my own beers, thank you!”

            “Come on, Zach. Let’s be buddies. We have a lot in common,” he said and then he signaled the bartender to bring Zach another beer.

            “We have nothing in common,” Zach said flatly.

            Manuel grinned and took a drink of his wine. He sat the glass down as the bartender arrived with Zach’s beer. “Okay, fine. But for Frankie’s sake we can be civil to one another, right? Sit back down and drink your beer.”

            Zach sighed and sat back down.

            Manuel smiled. “Thank you. Now, I want to tell you what I have observed. You hate me, that is evident. It has been since that ‘friendly’ handshake you gave me when we met. Now, I ask myself, why would he hate me? I am a great guy,” Manuel laughed. “But the reason you hate me has nothing much to do with me. You hate me because Frankie loves me.”

            “That’s bullshit!” Zach exclaimed.

            “Which part? That I am a great guy or that Frankie loves me? Either way, it doesn’t matter. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, hmm? One Miss Sunny B.”

            Zach frowned in surprise. “What about her? Why are you bringing her up?”

            “Well…I could tell you, but I would rather show you,” Manuel said. He pulled out his phone and clicked on an app. He scrolled for a moment and smiled when he found what he was looking for. He placed the phone on the counter where Zach could see what was on the screen.

            Zach could tell immediately that it was a tweet on Twitter. He recognized the user name as someone who used to follow him when he still had his account. There were two pictures on the tweet. The picture on the left was of Frankie wearing sunglasses. The picture on the right was from today and it was Zach and Sunny on the red carpet. It was when they first arrived and Sunny was still wearing her sunglasses. The tweet read, “OMG! Zach has a type! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!” It had only been posted a few minutes and already had 36 likes and 16 retweets.

            Zach looked from picture to picture a few times and he felt the blood drain from his face in shock. He looked away from the phone and picked up the beer that Manuel had bought for him with a hand that had a slight tremble. He took a drink, even though he had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t touch it.

            “Wow. You really didn’t know, did you? It seems so obvious to everyone else. Why did you think you were drawn to her? I know it is not her intellect, voice, or her scintillating conversational skills because I saw you cringe every time she opened her mouth. I spent some time with her on that tour and I really can’t say I blame you for your revulsion. And we both know it is not for her body.” He forked up the last bit of salad and raised it to his lips. Before he put it into his mouth he said, “Okay, so to summarize my opinion—whatever did or did not happen, you and Frankie drifted apart. You are still hung up on him; he couldn’t care less about you. You need to get over him and that isn’t going to happen as long as you are dating his doppelganger.”

            “What’s it to you?” Zach asked.

            Manuel stopped in mid chew and looked quizzically at Zach, “What? What do you mean?”

            “I mean, why do you care how I feel? You already said that Frankie feels nothing for me, so why would you even bother with this little chat?”

            Manuel picked up his napkin and used it to wipe off his mouth and then each hand before laying it down on the counter. “Why do I care, you ask? I’ll tell you why. I am trying to save you some pain and embarrassment. If you somehow feel the overwhelming need to confess your feelings to Frankie, he is going to shut that shit down. You will only be more hurt than you are right now, and I am trying to protect you from that. Call it an act of charity, if you like.”

            Zach reached out and wrapped his hand around his glass of beer. He opened his mouth to speak.

            “There you are!” Frankie called from the opening of the tent and rushed towards them. “I have been looking all over for you!”

            Manuel slipped his arm around Frankie’s waist. “I was here, Babe! I ran into Zach and we ate lunch together. I have my phone; you should have called me!”

            Frankie gave a small laugh, “Well, as long as I found you now, that’s all that matters!”

            “Frankie! Frankie!” a teenage girl called as she ran into the tent. “I’ve been trying to catch you! I’m leaving and I have to get a picture of you! I will die if I don’t!”

            “Hey! OUT! No one under 21 is allowed in here!” shouted the bartender from behind the counter.

            Manuel laughed and said to the bartender, “Aw, come on! You heard her…she will die if she doesn’t get a picture. You don’t want her to die, do you?”

            “Quickly, we’ll take a selfie and then you have to go. We don’t want the bartender to call the police on us,” Frankie said, moving towards her with a smile.

            “No! Not with me! I am hideous! Can I take it of you and Manuel? Oh…wait,” she paused and looked at Zach. “I know you! You were on ‘Big Brother’ with Frankie, right? Zach…something?”

            Zach gave a small nod, “Yep, that’s me, Zach Something.”

            “Zach Rance,” Frankie supplied.

            “Will you be in it too? Do you mind?” she asked Zach.

            Zach got up and moved to one side of Manuel, who had remained in his seat, while Frankie was on the other side of Manuel. “I don’t mind,” Zach said, “But give me a countdown before you take it, okay? I do better in pictures when I know they are being taken.”

            “Okay!” she agreed and looked at the camera screen on her phone. “3…2...1!”

            Zach picked up his beer from the counter and dumped it over Manuel’s head. He sat the glass down. “Thanks for the beer, _Manny_!” he called as he walked away. He paused next to the teenage girl who had taken the picture. Her mouth was open and her eyes were huge in shock. “Make sure to tag me in that when you post it. I would love to have a copy.” He strode out of the tent to the sound of applause. The people in the tent had no idea why he had done that, but they did seem to have enjoyed what they saw.

            Without being able to think of another destination, Zach quickly crossed the wide walking area and entered the BB16 booth.

            “What the fuck was that?” Frankie screamed directly behind him.

            Zach turned around and shrugged with a smirk, “What? He said the beer was on him!”

            Cody hurriedly stepped between them, “Guys! Hey guys! Chill,” he said.

            “Do you know what he just did?” Frankie shouted in an outraged voice.

            Derrick came over to them and spoke quietly, “Let it go. Walk away.”

            Zach raised his hand to look and his nails. He began to pick at one.

            “NO!” Frankie bellowed. “I’m not going to just let this go! I demand an explanation!”

            Zach shrugged, “I told you…”

            “Don’t you dare say that again,” Frankie warned through gritted teeth.

            “Listen,” Derrick continued in a quiet voice, “It is our scheduled break. Donny and Caleb have already gone to lunch and Cody and I are going to join them. If this has to be hashed out now, then hash it out—but not here, it will draw a crowd. Go someplace private. How about the trailer?”

            Frankie nodded and walked quickly past Zach. Zach sighed and then turned to join him.

            “Only use words,” Derrick warned Zach quietly.

            “Oh for God’s sake, Derrick!” Zach snapped with disgust in his voice as he turned and glared at him, “Of course only words!”

            Zach lifted up a corner of the backdrop and saw that one door to the trailer had been left open. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before entering.

            Frankie was leaning with his back against the wall. His arms were crossed over his midsection and he had crossed one ankle over the other. “Shut the door,” he ordered after Zach walked in.

            Zach shut it and then moved to the sink. He began to wash his hands without speaking.

            “Well? I’m waiting to hear your explanation for what happened!”

            Zach turned off the water and reached for a paper towel. His eyes met Frankie’s in the mirror. “I can tell by your body language that you don’t intend to listen to what I have to say. Typical.”

            Frankie uncrossed his arms and his ankles in one swift movement. “What do you mean, ‘typical’?”

            Zach threw his used paper towel in the trash. “I mean we promised we would still be friends. At this point I think I would be thrilled to be left on ‘read’ but you always keep me left on ‘delivered’. You are not interested in hearing anything from me. And today—when you introduced me to him—you called me one of your ‘cast mates’! Manuel told me that you view me as ‘somebody that you used to know’ and I have to agree with him, as much as I hate to agree with anything he says!”

            Frankie held up a hand, “Wait! No, he did not say that! He couldn’t have! I’ve never mentioned you and he has never watched the show!”

            “He did say it, Frankie! Why would I lie about that? I will tell you who is lying though…Manuel. He has watched our season. He knows all about us…well, what can be known through the Internet. He cancelled your bookings in New York and scheduled you some here in LA to make sure you were in the area so you could be here today! He said he did it so he could watch our reactions when we saw each other again.”

            Frankie ran a hand through his hair, “No, I don’t believe it! You…you have to be lying!”

            “Me?! Okay, I’ll prove I’m not lying! He told me that the two of you are getting married this Christmas!” Zach shouted.

            Frankie’s jaw dropped. “He told you that? Why would he tell you that? We decided to keep it private and we have only told our families and our…” Frankie stopped himself.

            “Go on! Go on and say it! You only told your family and your _friends_! Yeah…you just made my point! So when did you intend to let me know? Was I supposed to read it online? And speaking of which, didn’t we swear not to throw shit in each other’s faces? All the pictures and Instagram stories you post are about the two of you, going places and doing things together! Another promise you didn’t keep!”

            Frankie put his hands on his hips, “I did keep my promises when I was casually dating!” he said loudly with his voice full of indignation, “But Manuel is different! We are in a committed relationship and I have to put his feelings first…and that means not being besties with an ex! And as for the pictures and the Instagram stories—those have NOTHING to do with you! I document the places we go and the things we do because that is what people in relationships do! Not like that is something _you_ would understand!”

            Zach recoiled as if he had been slapped. “I KNOW!” he screamed and then he turned and punched the wall beside the mirror three times in quick succession. “I KNOW I FUCKED UP, OKAY???!!!” He took a step towards Frankie, “It was all my fault! I get it! I don’t need you to throw that in my face too!”

            Frankie jumped back and stopped abruptly when he collided with the wall. He threw up his hands to protect himself as he flinched away from Zach.

            Zach relaxed his stance. “Why are you acting like that?” he asked softly. “I would never…” He leaned forward and buried his face in Frankie’s neck. “I would never put my hands on you in anger,” he whispered. “Never.”

            Frankie relaxed, “I know. Did you hurt your hand?”

            Zach shook his head ‘no’. “Why does everyone think I am so violent? I didn’t even hit Manuel. Pouring a beer over someone’s head doesn’t cause pain.”

            “You publicly humiliated him, Zach,” Frankie said quietly. “Even with the things you have told me he said…I can’t understand what provoked that reaction.”

            Zach sighed. “He warned me away from you; he called his warning an ‘act of charity’. I resented him thinking of me as a charity case and I guess I overreacted. To be totally honest though, I’m not sorry I did it.”

            Frankie gave a small laugh, “No, I didn’t think you would be. You also stuck him with your check, by the way.”

            Zach nuzzled his face deeper into Frankie’s neck and laughed. “I didn’t realize it! That I didn’t do on purpose. I was getting my wallet out to pay and he ordered me a beer. I was still going to leave when he said we should be civil to each other for your sake, so I sat back down.” He was quiet for a moment. “How do you know he got stuck with my check? You were right behind me when I got back to our booth.”

            Frankie gave a small shrug, “I saw it still lying on the counter when you left so I shoved it over to him and told him to pay it before I ran out. I am assuming he did.”

            “Are you really going to marry him?” Zach asked in a whisper.

            Frankie nodded, “It will be in New York. We have been looking at venues for a few weeks.”

            Zach quietly absorbed this information for a bit and then sighed. “But why Christmas?”

            “I love Christmas!” Frankie said, lost in thought. He ran his fingers lightly through Zach’s hair.

            “Yes, I know you do. And Thanksgiving, Arbor Day, days when it rains, days when it doesn’t, nights when you can see the stars, nights when you can’t…why Christmas?” Zach asked insistently.

            Frankie was quiet for a moment, “Christmas is such a beautiful time of year. The places we have been checking out are known for their holiday displays. All we will have to do is supply the flowers and it will be gorgeous.”

            “And practical,” Zach supplied.

            “Yes, that too,” Frankie said, his voice changing ever so slightly, sounding for a millisecond as if there was an edge to it.

            Zach raised his head up and searched Frankie’s face. “Are you sure that you really want to marry him?”

            Frankie looked Zach in the eye, “Yes, I’m sure. He gives me everything I ever wanted, and more. He is proud to be with me; to be seen in public with me and to claim me as his. He loves me.”

            Zach looked down at the cheap tile on the floor. He bit his lip and then nodded. He blinked a few times and then blew out a breath slowly before looking back up at Frankie. “I already knew what you were going to say, but I had to ask.”

            Frankie nodded and then looked away.

            “So…I have a bit of a problem. I need to get to a hospital or something, but I don’t want anyone to see me,” Zach said hesitantly.

            Frankie spun back to face him. “Hospital? Why? What’s wrong?”

            “I kinda…sorta…might have…broken my hand a little bit. I think I could go through the house and into the stage area to find a way out of here, but I’m not exactly sure. Do you know?” Zach asked.

            Frankie ran his hand through his hair, “Yeah, there is a crew parking lot on the other side of the stage, but the tours are full of people.”

            Zach moved away and started for the door. “The tour is closed right now for lunch. I saw them hang the sign up when I went to the bar tent earlier. Will you come with me and show me how to find the way out?”

            Frankie nodded, “Let’s hurry though. I need to get back to…I just need to be quick, okay?”

            Zach agreed and opened the door to the port-a-potty. He looked around quickly and saw that no one was near. He stepped out on the ledge of the booth and Frankie followed him. Zach led to the front of the booth and scanned the area. Since the tour of the Big Brother house was closed for lunch, along with their booth and others in the area, it was free of fans.

            Zach turned and looked at Frankie. “Run!” he said and started off at a sprint. He made it to the red velvet rope a split second after Frankie jumped it. He made it across and then ran for the back door of the BB house and slid it open. They hurried inside and Zach closed it behind them. They both peered out of it to see if anyone had spotted them. After a few seconds they realized that no one was looking in their direction. Wordlessly they grinned at each other.

            Frankie led the way through the house. It was still furnished from the celebrity season which had just ended. Even though it looked nothing like it had when they had spent the summer living inside it, Zach thought it had the same feeling to it and his mind flashed quickly though his memories.

            Frankie made it to the door that led to the stage. “If the doors are locked, we are going to have to get one of the staffers to help get you to the hospital,” he whispered.

            Zach reluctantly nodded and Frankie turned the door knob. Zach squelched the desire to cheer as the door came open. Frankie turned and grinned before stepping into the little hallway and up the two steps and placing his hand on the door knob that led to the stage. Zach followed, making sure to close the door quietly behind him in order to not draw attention to them.

            Frankie opened the door and stepped out. He jumped back but Zach pushed him forward. The first few rows directly in front of the stage were filled with people from the last tour. The tour guide was at the mic on stage, while an eviction from one of the early seasons was playing on a monitor.

            At the sight of them walking out on stage, first there was a collective gasp and then people began to excitedly scream out their names. The tour guide reached over and paused the clip that had been playing.

            “We’re so sorry to interrupt!” Frankie apologized when they reached the middle of the stage, very near to the tour guide. “We thought the tour was closed for lunch.”

            “Yes, the entrance closed for lunch after this tour started. It will be over in just a few minutes and that is when the studio guides go to lunch,” the guide explained.

            “Look this way, Frankie!” someone called from the audience.

            Frankie looked and saw a lot of the people in the audience were taking pictures. He pulled Zach closer to him and they posed for a few shots and then Frankie turned back to the tour guide.

            “We will get out of here so you can continue your program. Again, we’re so sorry we interrupted,” he said.

            Zach stood behind Frankie and waved his arm around to make sure everyone was watching. Then he grabbed Frankie by the shoulders, spun him around, and gave him a quick kiss. The audience cheered loudly, voicing their approval, while taking pictures. “Make sure you tag me in them,” he called as he took hold of Frankie’s hand and jogged across the stage, pulling Frankie behind him.

            They ran off stage and down the narrow corridor. They stopped when they reached the emergency exit.

            “What was that all about,” Frankie asked, shaking his hand free from Zach’s. He looked down at the hand he had just released, “Wait a minute! There’s nothing wrong with your hand!”

            Zach grinned, “It was a hollow wall. It just sounded like it would hurt. I mean, I might end up with a bruise…”

            “You lied to me!” Frankie exclaimed in a mixture of shock and anger.

            “I had to, Frankie,” Zach said, his heart beginning to race in anticipation. “I know that we are at a fork in the road and this is our make or break moment. Either we leave here together or we will never be together. I have been watching the tours all morning and I felt certain that there would be an audience still in the studio. I had to get you there to prove to you that I can and will do whatever it is that you want.”

            Frankie shook his head and then looked down at the floor, “I already told you…”

            “I know what you said, but I also know it was me you were looking for when you came into the bar tent—not Manuel, and it was me you came after when I poured the beer over his head. You could have stayed by his side and comforted him, but you didn’t. I know that you are planning on getting married to him at Christmas—but wouldn’t you rather marry the man who knows that your favorite holiday is Halloween? The one who doesn’t expect you to be practical? The one who loves you unconditionally? It’s supposed to be me and you, Frankie! You know it!”

            Frankie looked back the direction they had just came from, “I haven’t had lunch yet,” he mumbled.

            “There are restaurants everywhere. Come with me. We’ll find one together,” Zach pleaded.

            “I have to get back to…” Frankie mumbled and began to turn away.

            Zach’s heart sank and his throat tightened. He reached over and pulled Frankie to him. “I know,” he whispered. “It’s too little and too late, right? When Manuel sees the pictures of me kissing you, just tell him…” Zach stopped and cleared his throat, “…tell him I said he was right; he’ll know what it means. I wish you nothing but happiness and joy. And whenever you are on stage and you hear that applause, I want you to know that although I am not there in person, I am there in spirit—I’ll always be your biggest fan. I’m always going to love you, Frankie.” He kissed the top of Frankie’s head, “I’ll wait for a bit to let you get out of the area before I open the door.” He stepped away from Frankie and wiped away the tears that had managed to escape even though he had struggled mightily against them.

            Frankie gave a small nod without looking at Zach and then hurried away. Zach stood by the door, trying to get himself composed for a few moments. He looked in the direction that Frankie had gone and whispered, “Goodbye, Frankie.” He choked back a sob and wiped his face again. He judged that enough time had passed for Frankie to have gotten away, so he pushed open the emergency door and the alarm system went off.

            He stepped outside and found himself in the staff parking lot. At one end of the parking lot was a very tall brick wall; at the other end was a parking shack with a guard inside. The parking arm was down. The midday sun overhead was blinding as it bounced off the pavement and into Zach’s eyes. He fumbled in his shirt pocket for his sunglasses and they dropped from his hand and landed on the ground. He bent down to pick them up and his shaking legs gave out. He plopped on the ground next to his sunglasses and sobbed. He didn’t know what to do or where to go or what he was going to do for the rest of his life. He couldn’t picture a future without even the hope of Frankie in it.

            He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He knew he couldn’t hold it together for long, but he wanted to be out of the parking lot before he lost all control of himself. He decided he would get back to his hotel and gather up his stuff and get out before Sunny returned. He would decide where to go after that.

            He grabbed his sunglasses and hauled himself to his feet. Suddenly the emergency exit door flew open so hard it smacked the wall and before Zach could even think, Frankie launched himself into Zach’s arms. Zach staggered back a few steps from the impact.

            “Oh! Thank God you are still here!” Frankie exclaimed, clutching Zach closer. “I went out through the studio doors and I saw Manuel standing outside our booth talking to Derrick, and…I don’t know…it just hit me that I didn’t want to be with him. I turned around and tried to open the door but it was locked from the inside. Then I heard the alarm go off.” He paused and buried his face deeper into Zach’s neck. “People were screaming and running, it was total chaos! I made it to the house and got inside and came back the way we had earlier. The whole time, I was running as fast as I could, but I was certain you would be gone. Why didn’t you leave? Did you know I would come?”

            Zach couldn’t answer. He just clung to Frankie and shook his head ‘no’.

            Frankie raised his face from Zach’s neck and saw the tears. “No, don’t cry! I’m here and I’m not leaving. Ever!”

            “What about your Christmas wedding?” Zach asked and then mentally kicked himself afraid Frankie would pull away. Instead Frankie grinned.

            “I can’t marry him at Christmas! I am marrying you on Halloween! I mean, you didn’t actually ask me…”

            Zach grinned back at him and used a hand to wipe the tears from his cheeks. “Yes!!! And we can dress up however you want—I can be Voldemort or Darth Vader…anybody you want me to be!”

            “Zach, just be the person that I love, that’s all I ask,” Frankie said, and kissed Zach’s still damp cheek. And then he startled as he heard a loud, raucous sound approaching. “Sirens?”

            Zach grabbed Frankie’s hand and laced their fingers together. “Run!”

            Together they ran toward the entrance of the parking lot. They reached the guard shack and at the same time ducked under the lowered arm. They rose up on the other side at the exact moment. Zach gave a shout of laughter at their timing. Frankie heard Zach’s laughter and joined him.

            “Hey! You there! What’s going on?” the guard leaned out of his open window and called to them.

            Still laughing, Frankie and Zach clutched their hands even tighter together and ran down the sidewalk as fast as they could.

            “Stop!” the guard yelled. “Come back!”

            But they didn’t stop; they kept on running towards their future together. And they never looked back.

 


End file.
